Skiing in Whistler, Devouring Scones and Clotted Cream in Grantchester, Savouring Risotto with White Wine in Margaret River, Tasting Toro and Uni in Tsukiji Fish Market, Roller Blading in East Coast Park, Drinking Champagne in Paris - these are a few of my favourite things... but my favouritest activity of all, is spending time with the dearest people in my life.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

My typical breakfast is either muesli with milk from the office pantry or fried beehoon from the vegetarian hawker stall at Seah Imm Hawker Centre.

Today I ventured out of the ordinary by having roti prata (2 kosong ie no egg) and a teh Tarik.

The prata was crispy and fluffy and hot (80 cents each) and I gobbled them down very quickly indeed. I miss eating prata. I used to eat prata from the coffee shop opposite my JC for breakfast, and boy they were good. Those were the good days. I miss those carefree times! Sigh. and since I have long since left those happy times behind... I guess the closest thing is to eat prata for breakfast once in a while, and remininsce over those good ol' days.

The teh tarik was smooth and fragrant and not too sweet. I think it costs maybe $1.20.

Monday, November 12, 2007

I was a little disappointed when the tom yam noodle soup (SGD9.90) arrived - it was so colourless and plain! It could have passed off for seafood soup from the foodcourt!

But, it sure packed a fiery spicy punch! It was seriously way too spicy for even my hardened taste buds. In fact, the spiciness overwhelmed all the other flavours, so it sure didn't taste like the tom yam that I was looking forward to. I like my tom yam soup with subtlety of flavours with a hint of fish sauce, hint of lemongrass, hint of spice, hint of sourness.

The mango sticky rice dessert (SGD5.90) was generous, with a whole mango placed on top. Pity they did not remove the skin of the mango before serving it, so it was a bit fiddly having to scoop the mango flesh out. Also, the mango was not sweet at all. It was not fibrous, and was in fact quite smooth, but too bland.

Thai Accent @ #02-145This place had a much nicer ambience, with a view of the shorefront, facing Sentosa, nice wooden furniture, and soothing music from the CD which features songs by the Thai king.

Their Tom Yam Noodle Soup (SGD12.90) was much better. It came in the typical lovely reddish hue, and it contained various herbs which added fragrance to the dish. I could taste the variety of complementary flavours, including my beloved fish sauce (to which I admit I am very partial). It was also quite spicy, seeing that they add fresh and dried chilli peppers to it.

However you can scoop them out before they add too much spiciness to the soup. I find that the dish is much spicier at the end than at the beginning because the chilli peppers would have somehow added a lot more spice through osmosis.

The mango sticky rice (SGD5.90) was great. The mango was sweet, and there was the addition of some crunchy coconut or rice husks or something, which added an interesting texture to this dessert. Loved it.

VERDICT: since the prices are not that much different, I'd go for Thai Accent. Both places have a promotion for credit cards from Standard Chartered bank, but at Thai Accent, it is an outright discount but at Thai Express, they give you a complimentary dish.

Friday, November 09, 2007

I started this blog exactly a year ago to commemorate a lovely birthday surprise organised by DS... and this year was just as lovely!

Ah Yat Seafood Gallery @ Shaw Tower

We had a combined birthday dinner celebration for Kong Kong and I.

Lots of yummy seafood... This place was a little crowded though.

We started with geoduck sashimi, SGD 114. the most expensive dish that day. I think we kena cheated cos the waitress purposely picked a geoduck that was very heavy for our table of only 6 people - 1.4 kg! I should have gone to the tanks to pick out my own.

We could either eat it sashimi style or cook it in a steamboat of herbal stock.

Actually it is very nice, crunchy and sweet, and just a hint of chewy texture. But, for SGD114, I think I will stick with prawns, thank you very much.

We then had each had one yummy abalone braised in thick sauce, with a choice of sea cucumber or goose web as accompaniment. So nice. I don't like to share my abalone! So glad DH ordered one serving each for everyone!

I also liked these bamboo clams, also 1 serving each. It is steamed with lots of garlic, just the way DH and I like it! They do it by slicing the flesh of the clam into large pieces so it retains it succulence and juiciness. Some other restaurants slice it more thinly, but then it would require more skill to cook it right.

Then some other thingies...

scallop in yam

seafood claypot

The chili mussels (half eaten) were the most worth it - SGD9 for a big plate!

Thanks DH for the birthday dinner!

Cutie loved playing around the fish tanks... seeing the fish and trying to catch them.

Birthday Cake @ Home

Then on the actual day, we had a birthday cake with lots of candles (haha, old already). Cutie had fun blowing out the candles and helping to cut the cake.

Kong Kong's birthday @ Home

Cutie likes this part best I believe.

Look at how engrossed he is in this photo, cutting Kong Kong's birthday cake.

Cutie's birthday is coming up soon, I will update you all on that shortly!

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

This is such a quaint place - a little eating place from a forgotten era. It is located at the corner of Wishart Road, just diagonally opposite Vivocity. And, despite its proximity to the bustling, booming megamall, this quiet little eating sanctuary remains virtually untouched by modern commercialism.

A friend who recently emigrated to Melbourne but had to come back for some work matters brought me here for breakfast. And it was such a surprise since I didn't know such a place existed!

It's just a tiny place, but very airy, well ventilated and cheery with bright yellow walls.

I had a masala thosai while he had the plain one. I should have gone for the plain one, this was way too much for me. Filled with potato curry, it was a heavy breakfast!

One gets to scoop one's choice of accompaniment - so there is some green yoghurty thing with seeds and there is the vegetable korma. The accompaniments are free-flow and come in this big metal bucket (like a slop bucket) which you scoop out of.

Love the yummy teh tarik. It was thick and fragrant and just sweet enough for me to feel satiated and satisfied and happy!

Can you see the side of my korma tin in the above picture? See how the sides are so stained! I wonder if they even wash the tins, or do they just keep refilling the tins with more curry each time.

Inside view of the place. See how the people here are all so relaxed... taking their time to savour that fragrant cup of teh tarik... This uncle was just so cool.. he noticed me taking the photo but nonchalantly continued sipping his tea... as though he poses for photos like this all the time.. hahaha...

Monday, November 05, 2007

The fishball noodles are on promotion currently, and what a good deal it is!

Ah Koong fish ball noodles / yong tau foo

For only SGd16, you get a set meal for 2 that comes with 2 drinks (your choice of barley or luo han guo), 2 bowls of noodles, 2 bowls of mixed fish balls and stuff, 1 plate of braised yong tau foo and 1 plate of fried fish cake.

Choose the dry noodles, it comes doused in a tasty black sauce, Malaysian style. This is not your typical Singaporean hawkerstyle fishball noodles. This is a famous stall from somewhere in Malaysia where the fish is made from fresh ikan parang (thereby ensuring that they are very bouncy). I like the noodles. It tastes very robust.

I went to Beach Road to run errands...The Concourse at Beach Road is where all the best party supplies are, so I am told. I went there to see what was available. I am making goodie bags for the kids at Cutie's birthday party at the end of the month.

Lunched with Mr G, and at his recommendation we tried this Lor Mee stall on the 2nd floor of the hawker centre. A queue of about 3 people, but it moved pretty quickly. There were lots of accolades posted on the front of the stall, and the lady was quite nice and friendly.

SGD4 for an upsized portion. Wow, quite pretty isn't it? the fried wontons which lined the bowl were large and very crispy. Interesting addition of fried sliced lotus root. Quite yummy too. The gravy was not as generous as I liked, but that's just me. I like lots of gravy to slurp my noodles in. I think the lady here puts less gravy so that her wontons, which were clearly the stars of the event, wouldn't get soggy.

Dessert next.

I was thinking of trying the Belgian chocolate waffles (lots of hype about this angmo selling dessert in a hawker centre), but Mr G isn't keen on chocolate, and I also felt rather heaty so we ended up with a nice cooling dessert of tang yuen instead. Mine came in almond paste and his was a peanut soup. This stall was from the 1st floor, and though it had some accolades on the store front, it wasn't crowded. SGD2 for the almond paste, balls are an extra cost.

Sorry for the lack of updates... I have been so super busy with work! Sigh!

Also, been doing dumb things on Facebook! :( I have a Facebook fluffpet called Chocolate!

LOR MEE

I am so addicted to Lor Mee. I love it. And I have been unsatiable. I have had lor mee for lunch three times in 1 week!

I love the lor mee at Seah Imm Hawker Centre, facing the main road. It's a really popular stall, so just look out for the stall with the queues. The queue moves very quickly though, so I am always willing to wait.

Only SGD2.50 for a huge portion. I omit the garlic and parsley and add a generous dash of black vinegar and chili... mmm, heaven.

The gravy is thick and not too gooey, and very fragrant.

The meat is tender and there is lots of ingredients, including sliced egg, fried wontons and fish cake.

It tastes just as good when I tarpow it back to the office.

It tastes great when I eat it at the hawker centre too.

There is also a $3 portion, which I have yet to try. The $2.50 portion is so generous, it is more than enough for a big eater like me.

I am amazed how something so good can be so cheap!!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang musical at Esplanade

On saturday, DH and left Cutie with Por Por, and went to watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

I didn't really know the story beforehand (what an ignoramus!)... so I was so surprised to see all these children at the matinee (mostly angmo kiddies). Oh, it's about a flying race car? And twins who lived with their eccentric inventor father? Ah, it was a lovely kiddy tale where the bad guys get banished and the good guys win the day... The kids in the esplanade hall loved it. They laughed and cheered and giggled at the right bits.

DH bought us 2 glasses of champagne at the intermission... at a cutthroat price of SGD20 EACH! My goodness, I am outraged at the sheer audacity.

But it was romantic to drink champagne in the late afternoon at the esplanade... hee hee.

We for a foot massage after that, and dinner at dempsey. No photos because I lost my phone before arriving at the restaurant. :( So it kinda spoilt the day a bit, as we went back and retraced our steps and tried to find the phone.

Good news was that a kind soul found the phone and returned it to my address (yippee). So I was still able to post these pics.

The kind soul refused to leave his name or number or accept a reward. So I will pay the good deed forward of course. Thank you very much Mr Kind Soul.